New Blues Player on the scene

[Soulstress]

Hi guys - I am a new electric guitar player. I have never touched a guitar before until 2 days ago when I received one for x-mas. I'm a wife and a mother of two. I've wanted to play an instrument for over 20 years but never found a time in my life where I was settled enough to do so. Well, I am now and I'm ready for the blues. Not interested in much of rock with the exception of a few eddie hazel and hendrix songs I like. I'm here to learn and soak up every bit of knowledge I can from those who have experience. I met a girl that has been playing for over 9 years in a band that works for guitar center and has a contract with a label. So she has offered to help me after chatting with me yesterday. I guess it was my sweet disposition that won her over...LOL, and the begging.

My goal is to move into a blues guitar next year, x-mas. The one below :happy

http:///www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez-Artcore-AG75-Electric-Guitar-101955490-i1150599.gc

[just strum]

Welcome to the club.

I find your desire to play the blues very commendable. If you are looking at a new guitar next Christmas, I going to warn you now that your choice may change 100 times before Christmas, but that's part of the fun.

Remember, playing is an endless journey and have a blast!!!

[evenkeel]

Welcome to the group. :applause

[Robert]

Welcome! Great to hear you are on the path of learning the blues. Blues guitar is so much fun, so, way to go! And keep at it. :)

[oldguy]

Welcome to TheFret!
Blues is good........

[birv2]

Welcome to the Fret, and especially to the BLUES. First question -- what kind of blues do you want to play? What guitarists do you like? That will help, since there are so many different kinds of blues.

You'll find this a very welcoming place.

Bob

[Soulstress]

Welcome to the Fret, and especially to the BLUES. First question -- what kind of blues do you want to play? What guitarists do you like? That will help, since there are so many different kinds of blues.

You'll find this a very welcoming place.

Bob

I was I could say I was knowledgeable enough to know of anyone other than BB King, but I'm not. BB King is everything I wish I could be, the music is southern, soulful and has a story. That's me in a nutshell. Do you have any suggestions? I'll look em up and download em into my mp3.

[sunvalleylaw]

Welcome! Playing the blues is so much fun. I am sure you will like it here!

[birv2]

Soulstress,

BB King is a great place to start (and to finish!). I just got his One Kind Favor for Christmas. He's still great at 83.

There are so many artists and genres. Maybe the best thing is just to listen to what you like. One artist always leads to another. For instance, lots of people get started on someone like Stevie Ray Vaughan. Then you read interviews with him, and he says he got all his licks from Albert King. So you find some Albert and listen to him. It goes on forever.

However, you can't go wrong with the Three Kings: BB, Albert, and Freddie. Most modern blues can be traced back to them. But they were influenced by Son House, Robert Johnson, etc.

Have fun and share your discoveries!

Bob

[tjcurtin1]

Welcome! If that Ibanez is your guitar, I'd say that you have a nice blues machine right there...

[Soulstress]

Welcome! If that Ibanez is your guitar, I'd say that you have a nice blues machine right there...

That Ibanez is what I want to get next year. Right now I have a no-name Strat to get the feel and start.

[mrmudcat]

Welcome

[Commodore 64]

I started playing guitar about 5 months ago. Like you, I had always wanted to learn guitar. I learned some chords a long time ago, but that awas about it. My wife bought me a Taylor Acoustic for our 10th wedding anniversary this year...and I'm giving it another shot. I'm going to recommend that you get lessons, because it's a good idea...but I haven't done that (yet). I've been trying to absorb as much as I can from forums like this, as well as using numerous online sources.

LIfe can be hectic (i'm a father of 2 as well)...but I try to find at least 45 minutes a day to practice. Sometimes practice amounts to me doing finger strength exercises sitting on the couch. But every little bit helps build strength, finger independence and muscle memory.

If you can learn A, E and D chord..you can lay down some fun 12-bar blues progressions. Get yourself a looper and you can record them, then solo over them to practice your scales...but that's probably a month or two away. But trust me things get a lot more fun once you get through the initial trials and frustration of learnign to switch a few chords.

Some Resources for you:

Justin Sandercoe has put together a ton of great free lessons. You can watch them on your PC. There are 2 sections there that you may find helpful. The first is his BC-Beginners Course section: http://www.justinguitar.com/en/TB-000-TheBasics.php. This will get you started with some chords and strumming. Once you get comfortable with some chords, you can start doing some 12-bar blues progressions. Justin also has a Blues Section: http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BL-000-Blues.php

Mark Wein (a member here) also has some great video lessons and a user forum too: http://markweinguitarlessons.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=5&id=14&Itemid=37

And of course, The Fret's Head Honcho, Robert, also has a collection of video lessons: http://www.dolphinstreet.com/

Never understimate youtube, a lot of times you can do a search there and find someone to show you how to play certain parts of popular songs.

edit: What brand guitar do you have? Post some pics! Also, we can help you get it setup a little better with a little more info. Also what amp do you have? A decent amp will make any guitar sound great. One more thing...Craig's List. If you stick with your electric...you'll know what I mean in a couple month's. Heh, :happy

[FrankenFretter]

Welcome to The Fret, and best of luck with your blues path.

[Tig]

Welcome to The Fret, SS! C64 posted a few excellent instructional sources. Be sure to bookmark http://www.steviesnacks.com/ for some good blues lessons. Robert has several great blues lick lessons as well, like the 3 note blues solo lesson http://www.dolphinstreet.com/guitar_video_lessons/lesson-91.php


Before jumping into specialized musical styles like the blues, start with the basics, like hand and finger positions, picking, tuning, etc. You'll want to get comfortable and familiar with the guitar while learning some good habits which will serve you well for the rest of your guitar playing life. Go here http://www.dolphinstreet.com/guitar_video_lessons/ and scroll down to the Scales, Chords & Technique section and learn right hand picking, movable chords, etc.

Learn a new scale each week. Scale patterns sound boring, but they are the foundation we need to build from. Above all else, have fun while playing! The root word in playing is simply, play! As your technique improves, you'll find it easier to express your inner musicality, as if the guitar is channeling your soul.

Understanding guitar TABs should be one of the early learning areas.

You may want to then learn the CAGED chord system (http://www.cagedguitarsystem.net/)/shapes (C major, A major, G major, E major, D major), which can be applied to various places on the fret board.

Personal lessons are always the best as long as you have a great teacher. I'm self taught, but have had plenty of online help along the way. If I had the money, I'd go with a good teacher and my playing would be far more advanced by now.

[Soulstress]

edit: What brand guitar do you have? Post some pics! Also, we can help you get it setup a little better with a little more info. Also what amp do you have? A decent amp will make any guitar sound great. One more thing...Craig's List. If you stick with your electric...you'll know what I mean in a couple month's. Heh, :happy

Right now I've been living on youtube and dolphinstreet. I picked up the "Blues Scale Lick "9 out"", that Robert posted on there and now I feel all bluesy...LOL.

Currently I have one of those $150 package guitars deals. A no-name strat type guitar and a GA-10 amp with no reverb. But I love it. Its my first and it will probably always make me smile when I see it. The husband and I talked. He's going to get me the Roland microcube amp for my birthday in May after we seen a demo of it on youtube. Its small and portable to take with me to my lessons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qSf0mYO3R4

Thanks so much for those links to the free lessons. I'm sure I'll wear it out. Right now I have to get use to people not marking the tabs for me to learn from. They dont put e,A,D,G,B,E on the side of the tabs and the tabs are opposite of the strings on the guitar. The top tab is the high e, but the top string on the guitar is the low E.

I'm not sure anyone here would wanna see a pic of my no-name guitar atm...hehe. I bet their like, "ok, what are we gonna help her with on that thing"...LOL. As of right now all that I know is that the sound from a one guitar to another is better as you go to a more "quality guitar" but what about that guitar makes the sound better. Is it just the body?

[Soulstress]

Wow. thanks Tig!

I'm so happy I found you guys. :happy

[Commodore 64]

I'm not sure anyone here would wanna see a pic of my no-name guitar atm...hehe. I bet their like, "ok, what are we gonna help her with on that thing"...LOL. As of right now all that I know is that the sound from a one guitar to another is better as you go to a more "quality guitar" but what about that guitar makes the sound better. Is it just the body?

The amp has way more to do with good sound than the guitar. As long as your guitar is comfortable with a straight neck you are golden. Which brings me to what I was alluding to when asking for more information. A little bit of work setting up you guitar...getting your action low, setting your intonation, tweaking your PUP height will go a long, long way.

1. Do you have any dead frets? (frets that don't seem to work).
2. Do you have buzzing on the strings at any fret (a little buzzing is not necessarily bad on an electric, but a lot of buzzing can be a bad sign).
3. When you tune your strings...do you often hear a "tink tink" sound? That's the string binding in the nut.
4. Hold your finger at the first fret of the E string. Hold another at the 12th fret. Look at the 7-9 frets...Is there a little space between the string and frets? There should be...about a credit card thickness.
5. Does the guitar stay in tune relatively well?

Setting intonation is fun and easy if you have an electric tuner.

Check out this thread: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9501960&postcount=1

[Soulstress]

The amp has way more to do with good sound than the guitar. As long as your guitar is comfortable with a straight neck you are golden.

hmmm Ok. Question: If the sweet sound comes from the amp, whats the purpose of buying a "better" guitar?

I'm going to pull out my guitar right now to check on those previous questions you asked.

btw...the husband will buy his first guitar this April/May. He's playing base.

Here is my equipment, I'm all about the wine ;)
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu212/Shakir1973/Guitar/X-mas2009129.jpg

[Commodore 64]

hmmm Ok. Question: If the sweet sound comes from the amp, whats the purpose of buying a "better" guitar?


At our levels? None, except for Guitar Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) and Craig's List.

[birv2]

So much great advice here, esp from Commodore 64 (love that username!).

I actually think that it can help sometimes to learn on a "lesser" guitar. In fact, learning on an acoustic can help build up your finger muscles more than on an electric.

Not sure what your "no-name" guitar is, but there are so many good "cheap" guitars out there nowadays that it's hard to go wrong. My #2 is a Squier that I got off ebay for $75, but I've got no problem playing out with it, since it plays and sounds great. As everyone says, the key is playing and practicing every day. You'll be amazed how much better that no-name strat will sound as you improve!

[Commodore 64]

If that's a Yamaha Pacifica with the GA-10 amp, then you have the makings of a damn fine playing guitar and is hardly no-name! Love the color too, reminds me of my own el-cheapo strat copy (Epiphone):

http://www.lucky-cricket.com/files/Epi_Strat_After.jpg

[Soulstress]

Here is the no-name package from RC Willey:
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu212/Shakir1973/Guitar/guitarpackage001.jpg

Here are specs:
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu212/Shakir1973/Guitar/guitarpackage002.jpg

But HEY! I love it.... LOL.

[Commodore 64]

Probably a Hohner ST-Special. Nothing wrong with that guitar at all. But that amp has got to go. I'm not a gear snob, but when I got my Epi Strat off of CL, the seller GAVE me a GA-10 amp. It was older than yours, but same model. It was singularly the biggest piece of sh!t I have ever heard, and I have a Jay Turser Classic 10 at home, so that's saying a lot.

I put it in the garbage can at work with a note for the Janitor to take it home if he wanted it. It was that bad. The Roland Cube is a nice little amp, definitely an upgrade from the GA-10.

[Soulstress]

4. Hold your finger at the first fret of the E string. Hold another at the 12th fret. Look at the 7-9 frets...Is there a little space between the string and frets? There should be...about a credit card thickness.
5. Does the guitar stay in tune relatively well?]

All the other things were ok. But there isnt a space between the 7 and 9 frets of any kind. I put the index finger of my left hand on the first fret of the E string and the index finger of my right hand on the 12 fret of the E string. Nada.

As far as the guitar staying in tune. Its fine till the kids come over and get in my way and I have to move it around em and I grab the guitar by the head to hurry and get it outta the way.

ha! i'm stuck with the GA-10 for 5 months till my birthday in May so that I can prove I'm going to stick with it :)

[Commodore 64]

It's possible that you might need a small truss rod adjustment to give a tad of curve to your neck, but...if you don't have any dead frets or buzzing and the action is low enough so that you are comfortable...I wouldn't worry about it. I also wouldn't recommend adjusting your truss rod yourself.

[Brian Krashpad]

Welcome Soulstress! Don't forget buying used versus new if there is a craigslist or similar "classified ad" type resource in your community. Your money should go a lot further with used gear than new. As a new player, you may want to enlist the help of a more experienced player/shopper to help you though.

I know I've helped look for good deals for friends and acquaintances who were just starting out on many occasions-- it's almost as much fun as shopping for myself!

[Soulstress]

Thanks Brian. I'll let the husband know about craigslist when he goes to look for his bass. He wants to start in April/May. I'm a lady who has to have it new, too worried about inheriting problems. But buying used will be saving me money when the hubby goes to buy his .... so big thanks for that :)

[Brian Krashpad]

Thanks Brian. I'll let the husband know about craigslist when he goes to look for his bass. He wants to start in April/May. I'm a lady who has to have it new, too worried about inheriting problems. But buying used will be saving me money when the hubby goes to buy his .... so big thanks for that :)

No sweat. It's easy to forget about used if you're not acquainted with dealing with that market. Another possibility, if you have a music "scene" big enough to sustain a website, is a classifieds section on such a website. (For example, our town has a website called "gainesvillebands.com," and I've gotten some GREAT deals through the classifieds there.) Obviously, new has advantages as well, although with cl since you can actually try out gear being sold, in almost all cases any serious flaws will be apparent.

Good luck, and have fun!

[duhvoodooman]

Late to the party, but a big DVM WELCOME to The Fret, SS!! :dude :beer: :rockon:

[Soulstress]

LOL. Thanks.

[ZMAN]

Any luck with the scales?

[Unknown Fan]

I do love me some blues and always warm up with blues licks...

BTW, any womern that loves to pick is a good womern

[sumitomo]

Welcome Soulstress,(I need to get over here to welcome people in more often)seeing that your a Blues lover such a myself I thought I'd share one of my fave female players Laura Chavez,Man that girl got Soul,check her out.Sumi:D

[EnglishJW]

Keep doing what you are doing. Watch the lessons and try what you can. Don't try to become a technician and don't worry about your guitar or amp right now. Play what you have. At some point, your skill will clearly exceed the capability of your equipment. That is when you will have to worry about a new guitar or amp. Another reason to upgrade is if something goes wrong or isn't working right for you. Learn how to take care of your equipment as you learn to play. Be ready to change a string or strings (there is a very good instructive video here: http://www.tothestage.com/MediaDetail.Page?MediaId=30). As others have said, welcome aboard. Oh, my long time blues favorite is Jimmy Reed.